1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rack for holding a plurality of tubes, and more particularly, concerns an improvement in a multiple tube rack for holding test tubes and the like during laboratory or clinical procedures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many procedures in the laboratory, such as assaying and the like, the operator employs many test tubes at one time. Inasmuch as these procedures usually require the delivery of one or more materials into the tubes, it is necessary to assure that the tubes are vertically arranged in an upright position. Frame supports are available for holding rows of such test tubes for laboratory purposes. These frames are commonly made out of metal and suffer from one or more deficiencies.
For instance, many metal frames have two holes for each test tube, a hole through an upper framework and another hole through a lower framework aligned therewith. This type of structure oftentimes hides the contents of the various test tubes being utilized. In addition, many racks for holding a plurality of test tubes are designed to hold them in an orthogonal array. In these cases, each of the test tubes are resting generally at the same level so that it is difficult to lift individual tubes from the frame. Also, in such an orthogonal array, adjacent test tubes are stacked so close to each other that it is difficult for the operator to place his fingers around individual tubes. These types of racks do not facilitate the handling of individual test tubes therein, thereby increasing the possibilities that cross-contamination may occur during the utilization of more than one test tube. Moreover, most racks for holding a plurality of tubes are bench-type versions into which the various test tubes are placed before the experiment to be conducted. It would be desirable for the operator to work with a preassembled multiple tube rack in which the test tubes are already pre-positioned in the rack with the rack being positionable on the laboratory bench for the experimentation at hand. It is to the fulfillment of these desired objectives that the present invention is directed.